All but one of the available '66 US concerts are either fan recorded or incomplete songs from local radio broadcasts (the exception is Candlestick).

Don’t make your love suffer insecurities, trade the baggage of self to set another one free.
('Paper Skin' - Kendall Payne)

7 November 20131.35am

WETSRoosa

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meanmistermustard said
Even with the fans off in the distance concerts would often be plagued by them breaking throw the police barricades and making a beeline for the stage before being rugby tackled. You can it on some bootlegs where one of the four Beatles remarks on the chaos playing out in front of them.

Its pretty save to say that George didnt give a shit on the final tour and, wanting it gone as soon possible, was going throw the very basic motions.

Make that SIX. And he sounds just as bad as every other rendition. George even admitted waving to the crowd during the Tokyo show so they couldn't hear how bad he sang. He does it during "Paperback Writer" around the 1:07 mark...

"There's no such thing as bad student... only bad teacher."

9 November 20136.54pm

bewareofchairs

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What do you guys make of the lyrics to Grey Cloudy Lies? I think it's the darkest song George ever wrote.

And I thought to close my mouth
With a padlock on the night
Leave the battlefield behind
Stay out the fight
Not lose my sight

Now I only want to be
With no pistol at my brain
But at times it gets so lonely
Could go insane
Could lose my aim

Now I only want to live
With no teardrops in my eyes
But at times it feels like no chance
No clear blue skies
Grey cloudy lies

No clear blue skies
Grey cloudy lies

15 November 20133.31pm

breatle62

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I think was his best period, spiritually,and creatively.He hadda loving wife,good friends, and teachers.He may and was held back in my opinion till Abbey Road. He proved with if i needed someone/taxman-2 that he could write good stuff.The only thing that i wished is that he wouldve developed more as a guitar player..

2 January 20141.38pm

indiagirl

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It's difficult to say, really. I think he might've been depressed from 1969-1973, but I don't know about during the Beatle years. This quote from Pattie is rather interesting though: [on George after Rishikesh] "He became so very serious about meditating that the lightness did disappear. He became more sombre. He’d just go into another space. I don’t know … I felt maybe he was unhappy. He meditated for so long, for hours. It seemed to me as if he preferred to be in a meditative state than in a waking, conscious state. He liked the peace and calm. There was a lot going on. We weren’t even 30." His friends always say he rarely talked about himself, so I could see it going unnoticed if he was.

I have often thought he could have been. I think I remember Pattie writing that George was depressed during this period. That this was a new thing and that she wasn't sure how to deal with it since George seemed unwilling or unable to open up to her about his feelings.

2 January 20143.27pm

WETSRoosa

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Welcome to the forum, indiagirl!

"There's no such thing as bad student... only bad teacher."

11 January 20147.00pm

derek

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It was possable he was dealing with depression. you named all those songs that hinted to depression, i didnt see anyone mention "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", if that song is not hint, i don't know what is. but then again being in the Beatles in the midst of "Beatlemania" would be enough to drive anyone to depression. this is coming from someone whose life is the exact oppisette (me) of anyone "lucky" enough to be rich & famous. BOTH extremes is VERY isolating. rather you rich, famous, and idolized or someone who is ignored, sheltered, disabled, middleaged with just a life experience of a 12 year old. BOTH extremes of the oppisette is no way to live, but unfortunatly it happens.

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31 January 201411.00am

thisgirlthatgirl

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I can easily imagine a Doctor prescribing George with anti-depressants if he sat in a Doctor's surgery and said the kind of things he said in interviews, but that's not to say he was actually suffering from depression. He wasn't one to shy away from telling people when he wasn't happy about things! And it's very difficult to separate the circumstances that were piling the stress on him from his ability to deal with his stress / life in general. And all the self-medication makes it even more difficult.

It seems that he did suffer (to an extent) with anxiety issues - fear of flying, increasing panic about touring etc. And he certainly could be obsessive (an extension of his innate determination to stick with tasks until they were completed), but I'd hesitate before claiming his obsessiveness was connected to depression, even if it could be extreme at times.

Like all the band, he seemed to go into something of a tailspin after they broke up - or in his case, after the initial euphoria around the success of ATMP, and then as the death of his mum sank in.

So, I'm not sure about Depression 66-70, but he did exhibit some of the symptoms - I think they all did.

Peace and love

31 January 201411.35am

Ahhh Girl

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thisgirlthatgirl's last statement triggered this thought in my brain: the four of them certainly went through a period of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They each had to find their own form of therapy to help them heal after the maina and break-up.

btw, thisgirlthatgirl, do you date thisboythatboy? Which one wants you back again?

Ahhh Girl said
thisgirlthatgirl's last statement triggered this thought in my brain: the four of them certainly went through a period of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They each had to find their own form of therapy to help them heal after the maina and break-up.

btw, thisgirlthatgirl, do you date thisboythatboy? Which one wants you back again?

My OH (dating is a distant memory) is also a Beatles fan and much amused by my fairly recent descent into obsession with the boys, I think it's doing his head in a bit. Love the out-take version of this/that song when they have to stop playing because they're laughing so much.

Definitely agree re PTSD, in fact I think there's a thread on here somewhere on that subject (I'm a long time lurker, new poster).

Peace and love

31 January 201412.49pm

Ahhh Girl

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thisgirlthatgirl said

Ahhh Girl said
thisgirlthatgirl's last statement triggered this thought in my brain: the four of them certainly went through a period of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They each had to find their own form of therapy to help them heal after the maina and break-up.

btw, thisgirlthatgirl, do you date thisboythatboy? Which one wants you back again?

My OH (dating is a distant memory) is also a Beatles fan and much amused by my fairly recent descent into obsession with the boys, I think it's doing his head in a bit. Love the out-take version of this/that song when they have to stop playing because they're laughing so much.

Definitely agree re PTSD, in fact I think there's a thread on here somewhere on that subject (I'm a long time lurker, new poster).

I'm totally impressed. The last post to that thread was on 13 July 2012.

I still think that his ''symptoms'' seemed too, well, minor for him to have either PTSD or Depression. The latter, even in the most subtle of cases, has crippling and usually very obvious effects on the person and those around them. It's a serious condition which I'm uncomfortable talking/reading about lightly. I think George was exhausted, which can make you display some of the things people take for symptoms of his depression: reclusiveness, anxiety...

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

(Passover - I. Curtis)

10 February 20143.45am

tulane

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I think it's more likely that we are all suffering from Beatle Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

10 February 20143.50am

Ahhh Girl

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tulane said
I think it's more likely that we are all suffering from Beatle Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I'm not sure if what George had was PTSD, but Olivia has described him as being shell-shocked by the whole Beatles experience, and judging by these quotes it was something which he dealt with for the rest of his life - probably made worse by John's murder and the stabbing incident.

"If you had something like two million people screaming at you, I think it would take a long time to stop hearing that in your head. George was not suited to it." - Olivia Harrison

"I remember him visiting me on tour in Germany. He would come to the side of the stage and look out. But he really didn’t want to go on. He would go, ‘It’s so loud and smoky, and they are acting so crazy. I just feel better back here.’" - Tom Petty

"George opts to drive with me from Soho Square to Knightsbridge, but when I can’t find where I left my car, I feel he wishes he hadn’t. A bit like an animal caught in a searchlight is our George when out on the streets and I can see him getting a little twitchy as he and I - a Beatle and a Python - parade up and down before the diners on the pavements of Charlotte Street, looking for my car." - Michael Palin

"George talked a lot about his nervous system, that he just didn’t want to hear loud noise anymore. He didn’t want to be startled. He didn’t want to be stressed." - Olivia Harrison

Then there's this:

QUESTION: What about the turning point in 1966? The whole furor in America, the Maureen Cleve article and the Christ comment John made. What impact did that have on the group? How did it affect their lives individually, or the group as a whole?

GEORGE MARTIN: Pressure was coming from all sources. There were death threats. They were man handled in the Philippines by an unruly crowd, they were virtually booed out of the Philippines because they didn't turn up at a reception for the President's wife. But nobody else knew that George Harrison was in fear of his life 'cause he actually had some poison pen letters saying, "You'll die in the next five days," and the assassination of Kennedy wasn't so far away. It was pretty hair raising stuff. That together with the mass adulation wherever they went. They couldn't escape. That made them want to retreat and of course, they didn't have any lives of their own either. It's all very well to have this great deal of fame, but when you can't escape it and you're always with three other guys, you want to say, "Hey, wait a minute. Where's the girlfriend? Where's my children? What kind of family life is this?" It doesn't exist.

I think he did experience the most trauma from Beatlemania, being the youngest and such a private person. His personality did not suit that level of fame at all.

11 February 20143.54pm

derek

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It seemed like in interviews George would talk about "Beatlemania" as a horror story he is trapped in. the way i hear talk about is like one of those horror films where you are trapped in the woods with a serial killer and can not find away to get out. thats the way George described it once. So i can see where he may have been "shellshocked" for the rest of his life because of that. I suppose he was taking tharepy for it, seeing a psychiatrist about it. i would.

11 February 20143.59pm

fabfouremily

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derek said
It seemed like in interviews George would talk about "Beatlemania" as a horror story he is trapped in. the way i hear talk about is like one of those horror films where you are trapped in the woods with a serial killer and can not find away to get out. thats the way George described it once. So i can see where he may have been "shellshocked" for the rest of his life because of that. I suppose he was taking tharepy for it, seeing a psychiatrist about it. i would.

Did he see someone?

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

(Passover - I. Curtis)

11 February 20145.46pm

derek

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i SUPPOSE he saw someone, more & likely. i'm not saying he did but considering the circumstances, i would expect it.

12 February 20141.21am

Billy Rhythm

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George's "therapy" was working it all out through his songs. Some of you may not be familiar with this lost classic of George's from 1970 where he bares much of his soul, the "I'm tired of being Beatle Jeff, etc." lyrics show that he made much progress afterwards when you compare the lyrics of 'When We Was Fab' nearly two decades later, great song...:-)

12 February 20142.32pm

fabfouremily

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Writing down what he was feeling, which often would then become a song, would've helped him quite a bit, I imagine. Sometimes it's just good to get down on paper whatever is going through your head.

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

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